How to Choose the Best Hosting Plan
Learning how to choose the best hosting plan is key to your online success. Whether you are looking for the best web host for a business or the best web host for a personal website it certainly pays to do your homework. Read on to learn some of the best web hosting plans and companies that we recommend and also learn some things to look for in a web host.
Best Web Hosting Companies
Here are some of the best web hosting companies in order of our preference (#1 is our top choice):
#1 HostGator – HostGator is our #1 choice for many different reasons. They have excellent support via email, online chat, and phone. They have very cheap hosting plans (starting at just $4.95/month for a shared hosting plan, $24.95 for a reseller hosting plan, and $174 for a dedicated server hosting plan). HostGator also offers WHM (Web Hosting Manager) and cPanel which makes it extremely easy to manage your domains. cPanel also allows for one click installation of many popular open source software packages like Wordpress, Drupal, phpBB2, and many others. Probably the best value in hosting is the HostGator Baby Hosting Plan that allows you to host unlimited domain names for just $7.95/month (without having to sign a long term contract). If you are unsure of what web host to choose then you almost cannot go wrong with choosing HostGator.
#2 HostMonster – HostMonster is close to HostGator in price and also offers WHM/cPanel which is a huge plus. One advantage that HostMonster does have over HostGator is that as of the time of this writing HostMonster offers a browser based FTP client via a domain’s cPanel which HostGator does not offer. If having a browser based FTP client is important to you then that may be all that you need to sway you away from HostGator to HostMonster.
#3 GoDaddy – GoDaddy has great customer service, is a large trusted company, and has decent pricing on their hosting plans. That being said they do not offer WHM/cPanel and their hosting interface can be downright confusing at times. GoDaddy is an awesome choice for a domain name registrar but is only just a solid choice when it comes to web hosting. You may be kicking yourself down the road for not choosing a host like HostGator or HostMonster but overall GoDaddy is certainly a reliable hosting company with excellent customer service.
Cheapest Web Hosting Plans: Additional Questions to Ask
If you find yourself only concerned with finding the cheapest web hosting plan then here are some additional questions to ask of any potential web hosting provider:
- How can I contact support?
- Is support available 24/7?
- Do I have to sign a long term contract?
- Can I upgrade easily if my traffic levels or disk space requirements increase down the road?
- How many mySQL databases am I allotted to use?
Yes, price is an important consideration but remember to ask any potential host questions like the above before you decide to purchase a hosting plan.
Finding the Best Web Host: Pairing Hosting With a Great Domain Name
Once you have chosen the best web hosting company for your specific hosting needs then be sure and use our tools to find yourself some great domain names!
More Domain How To Guides
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- How to Manage Your Domain Portfolio
- How to Set up Nameservers
- How to Choose a Domain Name Registrar
- How to Build Websites at Home
- How to use Wordpress as a CMS
